Pewdiepie, YouTube's most subscribed channel owner and by far its biggest gaming star, last night became the first to ever hit 50m subscriber milestone.

He's also pledged to delete his channel at 5pm today, and start afresh.

The internet has mixed opinions on Pewdiepie - aka 27-year-old Felix Kjellberg. On the one hand, it has given him legions of fans, who flocked to his YouTube channel in its early years to see him gurn and react wildly to horror games.

Want to play a game with a giant friendly beast and you don't have a PS4 for The Last Guardian? You may be in luck as third-person shooter / MOBA hybrid Gigantic, which features fighting alongside a colossal beast that will terrorise your opposition once adequately charged, has launched its open beta today on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One via Microsoft's Game Preview Program.

Gigantic is centered around 5v5 team-based combat wherein players choose between 16 Heroes, each with their own comprehensive skill tree. Claiming points on the map will summon in various allied creatures that will aid your team in different ways.

Developer Motiga has quite the pedigree with Starcraft, Guild Wars and State of Decay lead designer James Phinney taking point as Gigantic's creative director.

Skylanders developer Vicarious Visions is going to be working on Destiny in a joint effort with Bungie.

"Vicarious Visions is excited to announce that we are partnering with Bungie to further expand the Award-Winning Destiny Universe", Bungie said on Twitter.

This is amid various reports that Skylanders, as a series, has been cancelled following poor sales of its 2016 entry Skylanders: Imaginators, which saw a 41 per cent decline following Skylanders: SuperChargers in 2015. Imaginators only sold 66k retail copies in the US during October, which publisher Activision deemed in a recent financial report was below its expectations - as was viewership of its Netflix show Skylanders Academy.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-09-amid-rumours-of-skylanders-cancellation-dev-vicarious-visions-is-now-working-on-destiny
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1873802Fri, 09 Dec 2016 00:48:00 +00001000 people will get to play Sea of Thieves' first alpha next weekend

Last month Sea of Thieves developer Rare launched an Insider Programme allowing excited fans the chance to partake in early alpha and beta tests for the in-development pirate game. Now Rare has confirmed that the first "Technical Alpha" will go live from 16th-18th December.

Only about 1000 Xbox One players will partake in this first semi-public hands-on though. "This gives us the right scale and experience for our first test, and will allow us to focus closely on the feedback we receive. As we move on through the Technical Alpha phase, we'll gradually increase the player base and frequency of sessions in line with the game's evolution," Rare said of its playtesting process.

Those who are selected to be part of the Technical Alpha will be bound by an NDA, so don't expect a ton of new footage to leak as testers experiment with the current iteration of Sea of Thieves.

The demo will be set in an abandoned factory as android 2B and their companions seek to destroy a massive weapon within. My guess is that it will be the robot boss battle revealed from the E3 trailer.

Square Enix also revealed the game's fancy £169.99 / $189.99 Black Box Edition, which includes a figurine of 2B, hardback artbook, original soundtrack, code for bonus DLC, and a steelbook case, all housed within a sleek black Collector's Edition box.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-08-nier-automata-is-getting-a-ps4-demo-this-month
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1873785Thu, 08 Dec 2016 21:45:00 +0000Naughty Dog teased The Last of Us 2 back in September and no one noticed

An official The Last of Us poster teased the game's sequel back in September, fans have now realised.

The artwork, created by famed designer Kevin Tong, was released for The Last of Us' annual "Outbreak Day" celebrations on 26th September.

It depicts someone (we presumed Ellie) holding a switchblade knife. Fern branches are wrapped around her arm, while moths perch on her and nearby.

French indie studio AnyArts Productions has announced Seasons of Heaven, a new adventure game to be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

Seasons of Heaven's story is based on a little-known French novel of the same name, which centres on a group of survivors in a post-civilisation world.

The game stars are Yann, a young boy with Asperger's syndrome, and Ani his French bulldog. Gameblog.fr has the first details and initial screenshots, some which you can see below. Both Yann and his canine pal are playable.

Dragon Quest Heroes 2 will be released 28th April 2017 on PS4 in Europe, Square Enix has announced. It was released in Japan May 2016.

Dragon Quest Heroes 2 repeats the one against many, Dynasty Warriors-style mayhem of the first game - but with the crucial addition of online four-player co-op. Two new heroes Lazarel and Teresa are available play.

Dragon Quest Heroes 1 arrived here 2015, all colourful and bombastic. But the move to action-RPG meant some Dynasty Warriors magic was lost along the way. "Omega Force may gain some new supporters to its cause," wrote Simon Parkin in his Dragon Quest Heroes review, "but something vital has been traded in the endeavour."

Deep space exploration game Elite Dangerous, already available on PC and Xbox One, will finally touch down on PlayStation 4 in Q2 2017, developer Frontier Games has announced.

This new PS4 version will include touchpad controls to allow you to easily swipe through your Milky Way navigation and customise four "hotkeys" via the touchpad to quickly access features which tie into your play style.

Motion controls using the DualShock 4's gyros will also be implemented to let you "fast headlook" around in the middle of combat.

Two things have happened at once: RocketWerkz announced virtual reality game Out of Ammo: Death Drive to Italica - a standalone follow-up to Out of Ammo due early next year; and studio head Dean Hall spoke out about "the hard truth" of VR development.

Hall was responding to a growing wave of criticism levelled against developers 'selling out' and signing exclusivity deals for PC VR platforms Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, therefore restricting games to one platform either forever or for a certain amount of time (a timed exclusive).

By dispelling these "terrible assumptions", Hall revealed some startling truths of his own. He said Out of Ammo was "very unprofitable" despite exceeding sales expectations and "selling unusually well compared to many other VR games".

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-08-rockstars-bully-celebrates-10th-anniversary-with-iphone-android-release
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1873639Thu, 08 Dec 2016 11:04:00 +0000Zelda: Breath of the Wild on Nintendo Switch shown live for first time

Nintendo has shown off Zelda: Breath of the Wild running on the Switch for the first time.

Sure, Zelda popped up in the Nintendo Switch's reveal commercial, but only on dummy units.

Last night's episode of The Tonight Show saw Nintendo turn up with a working Switch unit and a copy of Zelda to demo live.

The Swiss adventure launched on PC and Mac back in July 2015 wherein I recommended it.

Feist merges the minimalist aesthetic and heavy physics of Limbo with the swifter arcade skirmishes one typically associates with something like Donkey Kong Country or the madcap mayhem of Spelunky. It's frantic and funny, if a little frivolous.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-03-parappa-the-rapper-is-being-remastered-for-ps4
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1872752Wed, 07 Dec 2016 18:49:00 +0000Zelda: Breath of the Wild gets its own official pocketwatches

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is getting its own licensed pocketwatches via game publisher Taito.

As revealed by game merchandising outlet NCSX (via GoNintendo), there are two pocketwatches in this lineup. One has a blue face with an image of Link in the background, while the other has a black face adorned by gold sigils.

The fifth and final episode in Telltale's Batman series (or at least its first season), Season of Light, will be out on 13th December for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS3 and Xbox 360, along with iOS and Android devices.

Furthermore, the series' first episode, Realm of Shadows, is now free on Steam.

Our Aoife Wilson found the debut to be a bit unoriginal with its retelling of DC's familiar lore, but it sets up a story that could prove more intriguing over time. It has plenty of Bruce Wayne anyway, and how many video games can you say that about?

Star Wars Battlefront is coming to EA Access and Origin Access on 13th December, just in time for Rogue One's theatrical release on the 16th.

We've known since October that EA would be adding this to its subscription service, but now we know its exact date.

It's worth noting that EA Access is exclusive to Xbox One, while Origin Access is a PC thing, so neither will include the currently PSVR-exclusive Battlefront VR experience that Martin's been raving about.

UPDATE 7/12/16: Pokémon Go developer Niantic has now confirmed the imminent arrival of new monsters into the game.

The confirmation comes just a day after an internal memo to Starbucks staff leaked online which mentioned the upcoming release event.

From an earlier leak of the game's files, everything points to the arrival of Pokémon Gold and Silver's expanded menagerie. Those games introduced 100 new species including Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile and Togepi.

Be warned - some minor spoilers follow. The first beneficiary of the free updates will be Chapter 13 - the point at which the game sheds its open world and becomes more linear, and a level with stealth elements that's been cited as being overlong and frustrating as it limits the player's abilities. "Our early plans are to enrich certain aspects of the game, adding gameplay enhancements for Chapter 13, buffing ring magic, etc," said Tabata in the update. "We'll have the specifics of what and when for you at a later date."

Perhaps more controversially, Final Fantasy 15's story is to be tweaked with new cut-scenes that aim to clear up a muddied plot. "We're hoping to delve deeper into the story, adding scenes that will give you new insight into character motivations, such as why Ravus walked the path he did," said Tabata of what's to come after the updates to Chapter 13. "We will need a little time with these, as they'll need to be localised and voiced in other languages, but we'll let you know the details once everything is set."

During The Game Awards, Gearbox announced it was behind the Bulletstorm remaster. Bulletstorm is a superb first-person shooter, as our Christian Donlan insists, so news of the Full Clip Edition was welcome. But shortly after the reveal, Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford battled calls on Twitter for an upgrade discount programme that - it seems - is not going to happen.

The debate kicked off when Pitchford was asked on Twitter whether owners of Bulletstorm on PC who already have it on Steam would be given the upgraded version for free - or at least discounted.

It's a fair question. We've seen similar promotions from some publishers who have remastered their games, such as Bethesda with Skyrim Special Edition, 2K with BioShock and THQ Nordic with Darksiders Warmastered Edition.

The Overwatch Twitter account shared an animated Christmas card with a picture of a Dickensian King's Row on the front and the words, "It's the most wonderful time of the year and we hope you join us for some holiday cheer," and the date, on the inside.

Beyond a strong hint that King's Row will be turned into a scene from A Christmas Carol, or thereabouts, no clues about the Christmas contents were given.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-07-big-battleborn-update-unlocks-all-characters-in-bid-to-attract-new-players
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1873390Wed, 07 Dec 2016 09:39:00 +0000Oni 2 was once in development, here's what it looked like

Bungie's known for Halo and, more recently, Destiny. But back in the day it was also known for another action game, called Oni. Well, it turns out work was done on Oni 2 - before it was cancelled.

YouTube channel PtoPOnline, which has revealed footage of multiple unreleased games over the last couple of years, has made a video showcasing a 2002 build of Oni 2, which was in development at Angel Studios.

The build is little more than a tech demo, but we see there were ambitious plans for the combat. The idea was Oni 2 would feature seamless transitions from hand-to-hand to shooting, and you'd even be able to control individual limbs, attacking and shooting on a per limb basis.

There's free Christmas Hitman content coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox One next week (Tuesday 13th) in the name of charity: the World Cancer Research Fund.

It's a festive rework of the Paris Showstopper level, now resplendent with Christmas trees, decorations, maybe a little mistletoe you old rogue... The aim is to stop two thieves from pinching presents. You'll be able to unwrap a few gifts of your own, and there's a rather iconic festive Christmas disguise to use.

Three weeks ago eight-year-old Olivia was waiting in a corridor at dance class where she was preparing for a big Christmas show. In the corridor was a wheelie table with a hot water urn on. Two girls sat on the table - and it collapsed. The urn tumbled, spilling scalding water over Olivia's legs and feet, causing second-degree burns.

After Olivia was treated at hospital, stepfather Adam Graham sought advice.
Why had the urn been there and the children unsupervised around it? Why had the teacher gone against burn guidelines and applied cream? Not knowing where to turn next, Adam Graham turned to rllmuk, a large UK gaming forum he belonged to (you need to be a member to see his post but I have, with his permission, included a screenshot here). Graham didn't expect what came next.

Amid the shared anger, sympathy and support was a woman who wanted to send some books to cheer Olivia up, Adam Graham told me, so he gave her his address.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-06-she-cant-understand-how-someone-shes-never-met-would-be-so-kind
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1873213Tue, 06 Dec 2016 12:06:00 +0000The Last of Us fans have a huge Part 2 theory

The Last of Us fans have come up with a big theory on Naughty Dog's upcoming Part 2.

(For those wary of spoilers, this theory is based upon The Last of Us: Part 2's reveal trailer, although it would also fit with The Last of Us' ending, which we discuss in very broad terms below.)

The teaser catches up with an older Ellie who has clearly just killed off a number of human attackers. She's covered in blood, which trickles down her face in a dreamlike sequence where she plays guitar.

Russian MPs have labelled FIFA 17 "gay propaganda" for its support of the LGBTQ community - and have called for the game to be banned if it isn't changed.

In November, EA Sports offered FIFA 17 players a free Rainbow kit for use in FIFA Ultimate Team as part of Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign.

Russian MPs upset at the offer have now asked the state communications oversight agency to take action against FIFA 17 for violating the country's law against "gay propaganda", according to a report in The Guardian.

So far we have six confirmed characters for the crossover fighting game. Representing Capcom we have Ryu, Mega Man X and Morrigan (the latter is from the Darkstalkers series). From Marvel we have Iron Man, Captain Marvel and Captain America.

Capcom has signalled balance changes are coming to Street Fighter 5 as part of season two of the fighting game.

The balance changes, due out in a few weeks, are designed to make each character's uniqueness "truly shine", Peter "ComboFiend" Rosas wrote in a post on Capcom Unity.

Rosas said Capcom had noticed that there are a few particularly strong mechanics in Street Fighter 5 that resulted in players using them more than the unique attacks each character has at their disposal.

As uncovered by Xentax forums user luxox18 (via NeoGAF), this marks the first time folks have managed to unearth the hidden contents of a PS4-exclusive title.

It's unclear what this will mean for the future, but in the meantime, we get to see some cool unused character models from P.T. These include a male-looking monstrosity that wouldn't look out of place in the prologue to Prometheus, as well as a one-legged creature seemingly used in a Silent Hills promotional video.

It's a complex series of steps, to say the least, and it ends with the player being able to access a bloody door in the attic. Inside is a message saying "You're the best ever!" with an item called a "dirty coin" stuck to it.

Capcom's excellent Resident Evil 7 demo will at last get a PC launch - two weeks today on 19th December.

A post on the game's Steam blog has detailed some of the many, many graphical options included in the demo - such as resolution, refresh rate, field of view, frame rate, V-sync, anti-aliasing, depth of field, ambient occulusion, volumetric lighting, subsurface scattering, chromatic aberration and more, if you can believe it.

The game's demo first arrived for PlayStation 4 back in June, during E3.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-05-excitebike-64-powers-onto-wii-u-virtual-console-this-week
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1872981Mon, 05 Dec 2016 09:49:00 +0000Ellie is the lead character in The Last of Us Part 2

Ellie will be the lead playable character in The Last of Us Part 2, Naughty Dog has revealed in a panel session at this year's PlayStation Experience.

Neil Druckmann took to the stage with Troy Baker - who plays the returning Joel, the main playable character in the first game - and Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie.

Details were understandably thin for a game that's not due out for a while - and the trailer was intended for next year's E3 but Naughty Dog elected to show it at this year's PlayStation Experience - but Druckmann did give a broad view of what to expect.

Hideo Kojima has revealed the engine that Kojima Productions will be using for Death Stranding, with the new studio electing to partner with Guerrilla Games and using the Decima engine - as used in the forthcoming Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Earlier this year Hideo Kojima took a world tour with Sony's Mark Cerny in a quest to find an engine for Death Stranding, and some of his social media posts hinted towards the conclusion they came towards: last month he tweeted an image of a mouse mat on his desk bearing the image of Guerrilla Games' Herman Hulst. Which is fair enough - Hulst is a handsome man.

Kojima confirmed Death Stranding would be using the Decmia engine in a talk at this year's PlayStation Experience, revealing that Guerrilla Games handed him the source code in a small wooden box upon making his decision. As part of the partnership, a small satellite team from Kojima Productions is embedded in Guerrilla Games' Amsterdam office.

]]>http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-12-03-death-stranding-will-use-guerrilla-games-horizon-zero-dawn-engine
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=1872826Sat, 03 Dec 2016 21:26:00 +0000Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is set after Uncharted 4, will be longer than Left Behind

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the newly announced standalone Uncharted adventure, will be a longer experience than The Last of Us' Left Behind expansion.

The news came as part of a panel after Uncharted: The Lost Legacy's reveal at the PlayStation Experience 2016, with members of Naughty Dog and Claudia Black and Laura Bailey - who will be playing the game's leads, Chloe and Nadine - going into a little more detail on what to expect.

The expansion will be set after Uncharted 4, and builds upon many of the mechanics of that game. The 'wide linear' concept - in which players are presented with a broader playspace with more options - is being expanded upon, while having Chloe as the lead character will also introduce a different feel with refreshed combat mechanics.